Monday, September 5, 2011

Youth Soccer: Hope Solo Jr.?

My daughter, CC, and I watched the FIFA Women's World Cup this summer. CC is a goalie so she paid particular attention to Hope Solo. She noticed her athleticism. She noticed her technique. She noticed that Hope Solo is pretty. And she noticed that Hope Solo wore many different color uniforms.

So you know what that meant for me? Yep, trips to the sporting good stores and endless searches online for Hope Solo jersey's in size women's XS.

This past weekend, my daughter played in the Mead Cup, one of the best soccer tournaments in the country. She played in three games and like Hope Solo she made some spectacular save. Like Hope Solo she allowed some goals. And like Hope Solo, she wore a different goalie uniform for each game.

Hope Solo Diving Attempt
CC Diving Attempt
Hope Solo Clearing Pass
CC Clearing Pass
Hope Solo Save Attempt
CC Save Attempt
Hope Solo Save
CC Save
Hope Solo Concentration
CC Concentration
Hope Solo Water Break
CC Water Break
The Main Point

If you want to be the best, you need to study the best. Study their careers, study their moves, study their practice regimens. 

Side Note: I could not find Hope Solo uniforms. I was surprised the Nike or Puma did not exploit the popularity of Hope Solo and make her uniforms available. My daughter and I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and found green and purple Under Armor shirts that worked well.

7 comments:

  1. It's too bad you can't turn into a great athlete just by wearing their jersey! The world would have a lot more Michael Jordan's running around in it. But you make a good point. If you want to be the best you've got to play like the best and learn from them.

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  2. Just remember that Hope Solo played very little GK until she went to college -- she was a prolific scorer for her club team. She was also a good basketball player, which probably helps with eye-hand coordination, jumping, etc.

    The point is you don't have to specialize at GK early. Up until U14, she should be getting at least half field time to develop her ball mastery skills. I know it's gold to find a good young GK who wants to play and shows some fearlessness -- but the better clubs consider the GK as the 11th field player, not just 10 and GK. My daughter's club rotates 2 GK, with the stronger one playing more in tournaments. The one not in net plays as a field player.

    Conditioning and strength training are important as well -- a lot of carryover from basketball in terms of jumping, moving in congested spaces, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the comment - I agree that the GK is the 11th player and needs to be very skilled with their feet.

    While my daughter plays GK full time in games - she practices with the team on the field for about 80% of the practices (20% GK).

    She also plays basketball year round too - so she is getting the cardio work and fine tuning her hand eye coordination.

    My daughter was the leading scorer for the team at U9 while playing 50% in goal. She loved playing the field, but struggled with sports induced asthma - so she gravitated to the goal.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Excuse me for saying this, but just because you think you are like that person, you can never be like that person. Many girls, including my friend's daughter are like Hope Solo, so please do not put the name as "Hope Solo Jr?"

    ReplyDelete

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